Emergency Preparedness with Apple Juice Jugs (storing water)

Two dilemmas solved.

This is the time of year for jugs of apple cider and apple juice. I love apple juice and cider, but those glorious glass jugs in the recycling bin seem such a waste. I will save a few for wine making next year but there will still be empty glass jugs. Other glass containers make their way to the recycling bin too that could be reused for something.

There are a lot of natural disasters, big and small, when water is not available. There could be issues with the water company; main breaks or other problems. If you go and turn on the water and nothing comes out, well, you are going to panic. That means no coffee, y’all, and that’s a real problem. We want to be prepared for disasters. We have lots of food put up, now we need water.

Now, I tend to think big or nothing which keeps me from doing anything. I don’t have large barrels of water nor a well with a hand pump, but I do have glass jars. I have half gallon Ball jars, I have gallon apple juice jugs, and I have other glass containers that pass through the kitchen. If I just fill those cleaned containers with water I will have emergency water started.

Sources say we ought to put up a gallon of water per day per person to last three to fourteen days. Just in case. Most of the sources I have read say to put bleach in the water. Gross. I have no desire to add bleach to my water. There is already chlorine in the tap water so you can store that and it will keep bacteria out and you won’t have to think about it! (Ignorance is bliss.) Make sure you start with real clean jars. Water your trees with the water and refill every six months or so.

Having some emergency water stored will give you a little more peace of mind. That is the whole point of homesteading, even urban homesteading, peace of mind.

LOL….take it from someone who has lived through many California earthquakes. You really do want to have water. I would suggest that if you use glass to store water, put the bottles close to the floor, in an area that won’t have stuff falling on them. The water won’t do you any good if you can’t get to it.

I think we are spoiled here with the weather and such but sometimes in Kiowa they would be working on the water without telling anyone and nothing causes panic like water not coming out of the tap! Good advice to put it where I can get to it easily. Thanks!

HI Katie, have been reading for ages but I don’t think I have ever commented. I recycle religiously, but I can’t bring myself to put glass jars with metal lids into the recycle bin. The easiest way to upcycle them is to take them to farmers markets, most of the stall owners are only too pleased to have them. I am based in South Africa, keep up the excellent informative blog. Laura

Katie Lynn Sanders is an urban Farmgirl, writer, Mama, Grammie, and herbalist. Katie lives with her husband, Gandalf the Great Pyrenees, kitties, and seven chickens in a hundred year old adobe in Pueblo. She is the writer of two blogs; FarmgirlSchool.org and DancingWithFeathers.com. You can find all of Katie's books at www.AuthorKatieSanders.com